The present invention relates to the production of mosaic artwork, and more particularly to an improved process for recreating mosaic artwork on a tile substrate.
Mosaic artwork has been produced for centuries and in recent times, such artwork has become fashionable and popular to use in architectural design. Mosaic tiles are used on floors, walls and as architectural accents in a variety of buildings and the techniques employed for creating these intricate mosaic articles have changed little over time. The age-old manual process for creating the mosaic generally includes the cutting of small pieces of glass, stone or ceramic and the setting of these mosaic pieces in a pattern of the desired design. Typically, each piece is glued face down on a canvas or paper backing and thereafter set together in plaster or cement applied on the reverse side. The paper or canvas is then peeled away after the setting compound has cured. The areas in between each individual piece are then grouted with a wash of plaster or similar grouting material. After drying, the resultant mosaic tile provides an aesthetic decorative impression with particular artistic appeal to the observer due to the individuality of each mosaic piece in both dimension and color. This hand-set process for mosaic tile production is obviously time-consuming and requires the skills of craftsmen to custom design, cut and cement the individual mosaic pieces in order to create the desired effect. Such hand-set mosaic tiles are thus particularly difficult and expensive to produce in large quantities, and although the ornamental effect is desirable, the cost is prohibitive.
One alternative to the costly hand-set production of mosaic tiles has been provided through the method of casting thermoset mosaic style patterns. Such thermoset casting methods have employed molds that incorporate mosaic-style surfaces designed to recreate the mosaic impression on the finished article. While such casting methods have produced tiles and other articles in the mosaic style much more economically than the hand-set process, the surface impression generally obtained by the casting methods have not recreated an authentic looking mosaic effect. In the case of tile articles, the tile cast with the mosaic surface is typically glazed and the individual mosaic areas are decorated with a limited number of colors. The mosaic finish of these cast tiles is confined to the mold pattern and generally characterized by a relatively uniform facade void of the fine subtleties and artistic definition of hand-set mosaics. A need, therefore, exists for a cost-effective method of recreating the mosaic effect in patterns and artwork deposited on a tile substrate.